


Surprise Picnic

by VeraBAdler



Series: April 2019 challenges [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Food, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 18:50:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18349622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeraBAdler/pseuds/VeraBAdler
Summary: A boring trip for Dean and Cas to run some errands turns out to be something else entirely.Prompt: Picnicking





	Surprise Picnic

Castiel was reading in the library when Dean stomped in, booted and be-flanneled and clearly ready to take care of some business.

“Suit up, Cas, we need to head out,” he gruffed, gesturing towards the door to the garage.

Cas was taken aback by the sudden change in plans; as far as he'd been aware, there had been nothing on the agenda for today. But as always when Dean called, he answered. He grabbed his trench coat off the chair beside him and shrugged it on as he followed Dean down the hall.

“Where are we going?”

“Eh, gotta run some errands. Just boring shit.”

Dean backed the Impala out of the Bunker and pulled onto the road toward downtown Lebanon. After a couple of miles, though, they hung a left, heading away from the nearest stores and towards nothing but miles of prairie. He trusted that Dean knew what he was doing, and it was a beautiful sunny day, so he contented himself with watching the miles and the puffy clouds roll by.

They'd been driving for almost an hour when the car began to slow. Dean made a short sound of surprise.

“That's weird,” he muttered. “Let's pull over for a minute.” He eased Baby to the side of the road and shut her engine off. “She probably just needs to cool down.” He stretched, raising his arms first towards the roof of the car and then out to either side, bumping against the back of Cas's neck in the process. “I'm getting hungry, though. Wonder if I've got anything to eat...”

He twisted forward, resting his elbow on Cas's knee, and popped open the glove compartment. He rifled through the contents and reported, “Lessee... Granola bar... Looks pretty old. Half a roll of Lifesavers, not cherry, so why bother? Hmm... Wonder if there's anything in the trunk...”

After checking his mirror for oncoming traffic ( _unlikely on this road, miles from anywhere_ , Cas thought), Dean stepped out and walked around to the back of the car, popping the trunk lid and rummaging around.

“Oh hey, Cas, c'mere, check this out!” he called.

Cas stepped out from his side of the car, careful not to stumble on the uneven ground of the shoulder, and came around to the trunk. As he peered inside, he felt a shock of confusion, and looked to Dean for an explanation.

Dean grinned and hefted the object in question. “What's this fully-packed picnic basket doing in the trunk?” He reached back into Baby's boot. “Hey, here's a blanket! Wanna have lunch with me?”

Without waiting for a reply, and trusting his friend to follow, Dean walked a short ways into the field next to the car. He spread the blanket out in an area of soft grass and blue wildflowers, and placed the basket on top of it. “C'mere,” he said, grabbing Cas's hand and tugging until they were sitting side by side. “This is _so weird_. Let's see what's in here!” 

He opened the lid of the basket and began to unpack it, announcing each item as he placed it on the blanket. “Hmm, looks like French bread, good chunk of that aged Cheddar you like, some grapes, _oh_ , it's that honey lager you tried that one time, remember? You really loved it and then we couldn't find it for sale anywhere around here? Wonder where _that_ came from. And... aw, yes! A pie!” Dean took a deep whiff of the pastry. “Oh man, smells like apple. _Awesome_.”

He reached into the basket one more time and drew out plates, napkins, and cutlery. He smirked at Cas, his eyes glittering with mirth and mischief, and declared, “Well, I have _no idea_ where this all came from, but it'd be a shame to waste it. Let's dig in!”

They sat in the sunshine, surrounded by tiny flowers and caressed by a soft breeze, and broke bread together. The food was delectable, and the day was warm, and Cas had never felt so relaxed and cared for. Dean, on the other hand, seemed to get more restless as the meal progressed. By the time they were stowing their leftovers back in the basket, he was twitchy enough that Cas was concerned. He touched his friend softly on the shoulder.

“Dean?" he began, and waited for anxious green eyes to meet his. “I wanted to thank you for this. You've made a grand show of acting like you didn't know what was going on, but I know you planned this whole afternoon for me, and it's been lovely. I'm so grateful for the effort you must have put in to make this happen. I know I'm not easy to surprise...”

But apparently Cas was easier to surprise than he knew, because here he paused, and in that pause Dean brought his hand up between them. On his face was a nervous, hopeful expression. On his palm was a small velvet box.

**Author's Note:**

> A rebloggable link for this fic on tumblr is [here](https://blessyourhondahurley.tumblr.com/post/183939760851/april-4-picnic-verabadler-supernatural).
> 
> The notes I made for myself when I plotted this out before writing: _Dean does a big fake-out on Cas. "Hey, we need to get {incredibly boring thing}, come with me. Oh no, the car is acting weird, let's pull over by this meadow full of wild flowers. Gosh, it's a pretty day, but I'm getting hungry, wish we had some lunch. Hmm, well, there's a granola bar and half a roll of breath mints in the glove box, wonder if there's anything else to eat in here. Oh, hey, what's this fully-packed picnic basket doing in the trunk? Wow, there's a soft plaid blanket, a crusty loaf of bread, a chunk of aged cheddar, some of that honey lager you like, and what's this? A pie? Wow, what are the odds?"_
> 
> Dean, you're not as smooth as you think you are, but sweetheart, you're still pretty smooth sometimes.


End file.
